Superstorm Sandy helps uncover 82-year-old cadet jacket

MEWPORT NEWS, VA (WAVY/CNN) - A mystery washed up at a New Jersey beach in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. That mystery led a woman to Virginia's Eastern Shore.

With all the flooding and destruction Hurricane Sandy brought to the east coast this year, it's hard to believe something good could come out of it.

But while cleaning up debris along the new jersey coastline, Donna Gugger found a unique looking jacket amidst all this mess. "So I dug it out of the sand and I thought what a great costume, it was close to Halloween and it looked like a Sergeant Pepper jacket and I thought, "wow, this is fun."

But after taking a closer look, she noticed the tag. "And saw that it said West Point and it said re-issued to DeGavre"

Donna did some research and found out the jacket belonged to Chester Degavre, a World War II hero who died in 1993.

"And then I started thinking 'this jacket is going to mean something to somebody, I hope, and I'm gonna make sure that I do what I can to find the right people.'"

She packed up the jacket and sent it to west point for cleaning and with a little help from the college, it led her here to the degavre home on the eastern shore.

"He would have been astonished and very touched I think." Teresa degavre is Chester's widow and says he fondly remembered his days at West Point as a cadet, but as far as the jacket was concerned, she never knew it existed. "I just couldn't believe it, it would be 82 years old."

"He graduated from the Army war college in 1956."

After a brief reading by Chester's son Tim and with Donna in attendance, Teresa got her first look at her late husband's jacket.

"Oh look isn't that beautiful."

But the question on everyone's mind is just where did it come from.

"Because his parents died many many years ago, and that house had changed hands many, many times. Whether someone had picked it up as a costume and held it... but how did it find itself in the ocean?" That will probably remain a mystery, but after nearly 80 years it's finally found it's way home.

A major fire happened at General Dynamics in Kilgore Saturday evening. Crews, from the Kilgore Fire Department, Sabine Fire and Rescue, and Longview Fire Department, were called out to the location on US 259. The Kilgore Police asked that people do not come to the area. No injuries have been reported. US 259 is closed between SH 31 and Pentecost Road. More information will be given once received and verified. Copyright 2018 KLTV. All rights reserved.

A major fire happened at General Dynamics in Kilgore Saturday evening. Crews, from the Kilgore Fire Department, Sabine Fire and Rescue, and Longview Fire Department, were called out to the location on US 259. The Kilgore Police asked that people do not come to the area. No injuries have been reported. US 259 is closed between SH 31 and Pentecost Road. More information will be given once received and verified. Copyright 2018 KLTV. All rights reserved.

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